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Thursday, April 11, 2024

Sports News

Atalanta crushed Liverpool, ending their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.














Inadequate In what may turn out to be Jurgen Klopp's final European evening at Anfield, Liverpool were stunned 3-0 by Atalanta in a Europa League quarterfinal collapse.

On May 22, there is an opportunity to end the German dominance with a European trophy in this competition, but their chances of qualifying for the Dublin climax are in risk.

Gianluca Scamacca's brace and Mario Pasalic's late goal put Atalanta in perfect control of the quarterfinal match, although Liverpool lacked imagination and coherence in the first leg.

The Premier League hopefuls' possibly expensive 2-2 stalemate against fierce rivals Manchester United on Sunday was exacerbated by the Reds' first loss at Anfield since losing to Real Madrid in February of last year.

After Liverpool had began the second half strongly, Harvey Elliott struck the woodwork before Scamacca's first-half attempt wiggled past Caoimhin Kelleher, who was again defeated by the former West Ham striker.

In an attempt to liven up the dull Anfield environment, Livid Klopp roared and swung his arms, but this was Atalanta's night, as Pasalic completed an incredible victory for the guests.

Liverpool had seen warning signals from the beginning.

In the third minute, Atalanta was allowed to go forward after Elliott appeared to have been fouled. Eventually, the ball fell for Pasalic, who took a shot from six yards that Kelleher stopped with his face.

Darwin Nunez broke through to test Juan Musso as Liverpool responded, and Alexis Mac Allister then blasted over as an open start persisted.

With some beautiful, flowing moves, Atalanta appeared ready for the fight, but the Reds were able to find openings, with Nunez clumsily scooping the ball when he slipped through.

Following a pause in play, Elliott produced an incredible attempt from wide on the right side of the box, curving the ball and hitting the bar.

Curtis Jones made a similar, albeit less successful, attempt after that, but Atalanta hushed Anfield in the 38th minute.

The former Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta, on the wing, delivered in a low cross for Scamacca to strike a first-time effort that slipped past Kelleher in front of the Kop without a flag.

Before the half, Gian Piero Gasperini's team continued to exert pressure, and they had a chance to take the lead in stoppage time.

At the halfway line, Marten de Roon gained control. Unmarshalled Teun Koopmeiners was then pushed through, only to have his shot blocked by Kelleher, who was approaching from behind.

After the interval, there were some moans, and Liverpool came back with Dominik Szoboszlai, Andrew Robertson, and Mohamed Salah.

The first improvement came with the introductions, and after Virgil van Dijk headed over from a corner, Salah was first stopped by Musso and then blocked by De Roon.

As Liverpool kept knocking on the door, Nunez lifted over and saw an unconventional header saved, only to see Atalanta strike again in the sixty-first minute.

Liverpool was caught off guard by an overly easy pass down the right to Charles De Ketelaere. Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate then set Scamacca open in the middle, allowing him to score with a composed first-time finish.

Only minutes later, Atalanta were on the verge of celebrating a third goal, but Koopmeiners could only find the side of the goal.

Liverpool's attempts to rally back were futile, and their joy at cutting the gap in the 79th minute was short-lived when Salah veered offside after Robertson's pass.

Four minutes later, Szoboszlai's error gave Atalanta the opportunity to break, and Liverpool had their work cut out for them as Scamacca slipped in Ederson, whose shot was saved, and Pasalic followed up in front of the visiting supporters.










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